My Yamaha YFL674 needs an urgent COA or two. Too much keys noise, plops and second trill stopper fell off and I glued it back, but needs replacing.

My fantasy was triggered and I began wondering what if I buy a Nagahara silver body + C foot, closed holes offset G (in case they manufacture such an outmoded setup). The headjoint I would use on it is my new Nagahara DA cut .925 HJ

Now, Nagaharas are expensive. Very expensive, in fact. And you would be right if you think I do not need that at my student level. I know, but maybe it would not mind.

But:

What is your opinion about the mechanics and other details, scale, responsiveness, noises, fragility, whatever you could comment?

I would deeply appreciate your feedback and experiences. Thanks a lot!!!!!!!!!

J-L, maybe you don't need it, but you would appreciate it. I don't think you need to make yourself guilty over something you could afford and appreciate. Since you already know that this fancy/expensive of a flute is was not strictly necessary to play the flute well, you aren't paying a pile of money so that you will all of a sudden be a 'pro' level player. You are not really a 'student', to my mind, but more an amateur, advancing your knowledge along nicely.

Now, on the other hand, I think it would be worth your time to send your Yamaha to a really good technician and have it completely overhauled, tone holes leveled, etc, by a top notch flute tech. (After all, if you DID eventually end up with a Nagahara flute, you would want a great flute tech to take care of it for you, so you need this flute tech anyway.) You might find that with expert attention, your issues with your Yamaha just go away.

I really love my Yamaha 881. I bought it at a discount on eBAy several years ago, it had a headjoint that should probably have gone back to get melted down. But I replaced the HJ, and it's a dandy flute. It is inline-G, which is slightly annoying, but its adjustment stays so well, probably because of its soldered tone holes and close attention during manufacture. Its keys are light and fast, no key noise.
It is going to cost a chunk of change for its overhaul, which is necessary soon- up to $800 or so...yikes. But I really like it.

I ride horses also, and hear many times about amateur riders acquiring horses with lots more talent than the amateur will ever be able to utilize. As long as the horse has an appropriate temperament for the rider, there is no judgment from the horse (as there will be no judgment from the flute!) that the amateur doesn't really 'need' all of that extra talent.

If you have the desire and $$ to do it, you have my permission And if you feel guilty, you could offset that a little by giving money to music scholarship funds, or some such.

I agree, looking at the sort of flute you have, it is worth getting repaired! Plus, your flute has a fine body, but I reckon the body doesn't make any difference to your sound. You've got a Nagahara HJ, which is the important bit! Also, you're already comfortable with your Yamaha body. There wouldn't be much point in a new body! The HJ's the important bit! Just make sure this technician's brilliant!!!!

Thanks for your support. I asked for an updated price and fell back to earth quickly. Unless I win the Lotto, who knows.

It´s over 10K without much fancies such as split E, and others. And a 10 months delivery lead...

I am trying to contact Philip Hermann here in Spain to have him COA or repair my Yamaha, I would not trust anybody else. But so far he is not answering phone calls or Emails. He is at another city, too far to visit personally.

Another point that you might want to consider is that most good flutists like to have a backup instrument to play when their main instrument is in the shop for repairs or COAs. You don't want to miss out on practice time, do you? So, get the Yamaha fixed properly and keep it even if you do get the Nagahara. That way, you'll have a decent backup flute to use when needed.

Oh my, 10K, that's a bit much.
Maybe you should look around at something used, such as a Brannen or Sankyo or other handmade, soldered tone-hole flute, that would have the kind of mechanism you were asking about. But...remember that your Nagahara headjoint might sound/respond differently in a different flute body. (I have been happy using a Sankyo HJ in my Yamaha flute, so perhaps it would work the other way without problems.)

It's a problem here in Spain, with a very little market of used flutes. And buying used abroad, without warranties of return or previous testing is a little bit scaring.

This may end up being a long term project; I wanted to know if there were weak points in this brand according to the experience of those who play on one.

Jose-Luis, maybe there is someone who can help you find a really good used flute. Micron comes to mind, but someone might be able to 'scout' an appropriate flute for you and send it to you on approval.

Thanks for your input micron. This kind of information about the peculiarities of Nagahara flutes are very useful. I did not know they use those tiny ball bearings! I understand now at least a part of the high price they ask for.

Yes, I must contact Philip Hermann ASAP, but it looks like he is not here at the moment. maybe travelled to some convention in USA? I will give him your regards as soon as I can get in contact.

I could contact Philip Hermann today I will have my flute COAded next week. Will have to play on my Gemeinhardt for a few days. I'll try to fit my Nagahara HJ on it. Hope this does not make it explose from sheer shame..

Muramatsu EX, eh? I will think about this.

My teacher has a Muramatsu; I plan to ask her play it with my Naga HJ. It it fits, her's is a heavy wall model. Probably it will not, I am afraid.

<Added>

No, this was not what I wanted to say. I plan to ask her to let me play it with my Naga HJ, that is.